Eliza Dushka as Echo in Joss Whedon's 'Dollhouse'.

Without giving too much away, here is my preview/review of drama ‘Dollhouse’ which has its Australian premiere on FOX8 June 9.

From the producer who brought you ‘Angel’, ‘Firefly’ and ‘Buffy’ comes Joss Whedon’s new project ‘Dollhouse’. ‘Dollhouse’ follows ordinary citizens who have volunteered to work for the Dollhouse, also known as ‘Actives’ or ‘Dolls’, whereby their personalities from the outside world have been wiped clean so they can be imprinted with personas demanded by clients. These personas range from crimes to fantasies to the occasional good deed. Outside of these personas, these dolls are stored away in a mysterious yet futuristic laboratory, named the Dollhouse. The Dollhouse is an illegal facility and is constantly under threat from FBI agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett).

The lead Echo (Eliza Dushku) is joined by Sierra (Dichen Lachman) and Victor (Enver Gjokaj) who all play dolls. When ‘Dollhouse’ first premiered it had a lot of potential, however due to Eliza Dushku’s limitations, the procedural nature of the show seemed very bland. It wasn’t until the sixth episode (‘Man on the Street’) where they delved more into the Dollhouse the show realised this potential. Ironically, this is when Sierra and Victor received more screen time. However, after that episode, the show headed south as it focused more on standalone episodes with Dushku. It wasn’t until the penultimate episode where I felt grateful for toughing it out during those boring periods.

Perhaps, Whedon chose the wrong lead with Dushku but that is an argument for another day. If you haven’t heard, ‘Dollhouse’ has been renewed for a second season, which might I add was one of the most surprising renewals of the last decade, especially given it was on a downward spiral (sinking from 2.0 rating in the key A18-49 demo to 1.0 for its finale). However, if the show did end on that episode, I wouldn’t mind as it was almost a perfect finish to a show which had so much potential.

As for the sophomore season, I can only hope Whedon focuses more on serialized episodes as the the show finished on such an awesome note. If it returns to standalone episodes, it will lose me.

If you are tight on time, I would recommend DVR-ing all the episodes and just skip to the Dollhouse scenes. Although I’d definitely recommend watching episode 6 (‘Man on the street’), 11 (‘Briar Rose’) and 12 (‘Omega’) from start to finish.

3 out of 5 stars

‘Dollhouse’ has its Australian premiere on FOX8 and if your lucky Ten Network will air it sometime in the future perhaps 12am Friday night.

Kris Allen beats fan favourite Adam Lambert as the winner of 'American Idol' 2009.

After four months of auditions, live performances and verdict shows, dark horse Kris Allen beat fan favourite Adam Lambert to become the winner of ‘American Idol’.

Sources say that out of nearly 100 million votes, only 1% seperated the two finalists in the final episode.

Both versions of the winning single “No Boundaries” by Kris Allen and Adam Lambert have been released on iTunes and can be purchased internationally.

The single has also been posted on YouTube (see below).

On behalf of TVAUSCAST we would like to congratulate Kris Allen on winning ‘American Idol’ for 2009.

'Friday Night Lights' has been renewed for two more seasons.

NBC sources are today confirming that DirecTV and NBC have struck a deal that will see ‘Friday Night Lights’ back for two more seasons.

The shared broadcast deal guarantees that ‘Friday Night Lights’ will see both a fourth and fifth season of 13 episodes each.

The two upcoming seasons will be filmed back-to-back to save costs.

DirecTV will get first broadcast rights to the episodes, with an encore run on NBC.

Before today’s confirmation, negotiations between DirecTV and NBC had perviously come to a stand still.

It has also been announced that ‘Lights’ show-runner, Jason Katims, would also serve as an executive producer/show-runner on NBC’s ‘Parenthood’ pilot.

Hopefully Katims can juggle both at the same time, should ‘Parenthood’ go to series.

‘Friday Night Lights’ airs on FOX8 and is available for download from iTunes.

An official announcement was made earlier today that the Nine Network has finally bitten the bullet and sold the first run rights of niche shows: Chuck, Privileged, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Pushing Daisies to Foxtel. So you may ask, why did Nine sell them to Foxtel instead of Network Ten or Seven. The main reason is Nine do not want to see their rivals benefit from their own loss, every year the ratings race is a tightly fought out battle and Nine do not want to give their rivals any fire power which might come back to bite them. But where does this leave viewers who don’t have Foxtel? This will only drive people towards piracy and given Australians already top the list in downloading illegal TV shows, these numbers will only sky-rocket. This output deal notion is flawed and should be overhauled to allow networks to bid for shows that target their audience or perhaps trading of shows between networks?

Chuck season one premieres on FOX8 January 2009.

Privileged season one premieres on FOX8 early 2009.

Pushing Daisies series premieres on W early 2009.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles season one premieres on FOX8 January 2009.

So for all you couch potatoes who want to sample great drama and haven’t downloaded the aforementioned shows, I’d highly recommend them all. If you don’t have enough time to watch them all, after thinking long and hard here is how I would rank them (Hopefully it makes it a lot easier):

1. Privileged

2. Chuck

=3. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

=3. Pushing Daisies

Press Release:

FOXTEL announced today it has secured a range of exclusive new U.S. programming for its Owned & Operated Channels following an agreement with Channel Nine and Warner Bros.

The new series, Chuck, Privileged, Pushing Daisies and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, will all screen exclusively on FOXTEL from early next month. Under the deal terms, Channel Nine has relinquished its first run window to FOXTEL, which will have exclusive first run rights to all series.

FOXTEL Executive Director of Television and Marketing Brian Walsh said: “In obtaining these compelling, quality U.S. programs, FOXTEL reinforces its robust commitment to provide our subscribers with more exclusive and first run programming.

“We continue to deliver the premium programming across a range of genres to our viewers – ahead of other television networks – and the new Warner Bros series add to the already impressive line-up of first run series screening on FOXTEL this summer including the hit shows Gossip Girl, Entourage, America’s Next Top Model, Project Runway and American Idol, as well as Australian programs An Aussie Goes Calypso, and new series The Phone.”

Chuck
Season One Exclusive Australian Premiere in January 2009 on FOX8 (as seen on U.S. network NBC).

When Chuck Bartowski opens an email subliminally encoded with the government’s most precious secrets, he unwittingly downloads an entire server of sensitive data into his brain. Now the fate of the world lies in the unlikely hands of a guy who works at a Buy More Electronics store. Instead of fighting computer viruses, he must now confront assassins and international terrorists.

Privileged
Season One Exclusive Australian Premiere in early 2009 on FOX8 (as seen on U.S. network CW).

Megan Smith is having a bad day, her New York apartment burned down, she just got fired from her job at a tabloid magazine and she accidentally dyed her hair an unnervingly bright colour. Things start to look up when she is offered a position in Palm Beach, working as a tutor for 16-year-old twin billionaires. In exchange for getting the girls into Duke University, Megan will get to live amongst the rich and fabulous, and have the remainder of her college loans covered. Privileged is based on the book How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls by Zoey Dean.

Pushing Daisies
Series One Exclusive Australian Premiere in early 2009 on W. (as seen on U.S. network ABC).

As a boy, Ned discovered that he could return the dead briefly back to life with just one touch. Now a pie maker, Ned puts his ability to good use touching dead fruit to make it ripe with everlasting flavour, and working with a private investigator to crack murder cases by raising the dead to name their killers. But the tale gets complicated when Ned brings his childhood sweetheart, Chuck, back from the dead – and keeps her alive. Life would be perfect for Ned and Chuck, except for one cruel twist – if he ever touches her again, she’ll go back to being dead and this time for good.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Season One begins January 2009 followed by Australian Premiere of Season Two on FOX8 (As seen on U.S. network FOX).

At the end of “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” Sarah Connor vanquished the Terminator sent from the future to kill her 15-year-old son, John. Sarah and John now find themselves alone in a very dangerous, complicated world. Fugitives from the law, they are confronted with the reality that still more enemies from the future and the present could attack at any moment. John knows he may be the future saviour of mankind, but he is not yet ready to take on the mantle of leadership that he’s told is his destiny.

These exciting new programs add to the stellar line-up for the 2009 season, including 15 local productions such as Australia’s Next Top Model Series Five, Project Runway (Australia) Series Two, Football Superstar Series Two, and new comedy programs The Pam Ann Show and 30 Seconds.

• FOX’s Family Guy spin-off, The Cleveland Show, has been pushed back to next year. The network also announced that the animated comedy had been given a full 22-episode order for it’s fall season debut.

• Tori Spelling is set to return to Smallville early next year for another one episode guest spot. Could 90210 also be in the cards?

• Speaking of 90210, Network Ten have announced the return of the teen drama, just in time of the end of the ratings season. It returns 7:30pm Monday, November 24th on Ten.

• Gossip Girl is returning to Australian screens (well, set top boxes anyway). The popular teen drama returns to 8:30pm Tuesday, December 9th on FOX8.

Sources: EW, Variety, TV Tonight, FOXTEL

A trailer for Joss Whedon’s new midseason show, Dollhouse is upon us.

Dollhouse will premiere in the new year on Fox over there and Fox8 here.

Foxtel recently announced the programming line-up and advertising partners for its new channel 111 Hits which launches on November 1, 2008.

“111 HITS is a high energy, high impact channel and we expect it to attract a big audience amongst its target demographic,” MCN General Manager Damian Keogh

“It’s appropriate that some of Australia’s biggest brands want to be visible in that space from moment it goes to air. Some quick thinking by OMD allowed them to secure the space exclusively for their clients McDonalds, Reckitt Benckiser and Telstra who will be the only advertisers on 111 HITS during November. These brands will also have high visibility throughout the coming months.”

Programming has been slowly revealed through promotions on other Foxtel channels, with presenters discussing a show and their memories of it. A majority of the shows have been moved from Arena, FOX8, The Comedy Channel and Fox Classics.

Triple Hits will feature such shows as Will and Grace, Friends, 3rd Rock From The Sun, and Ally McBeal.

2 PAULA’S FOR THE PRICE OF ONE!

Grammy-Nominated songwriter Kara DioGuardi has joined American Idol as a fourth judge. She will sit alongside Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson at the judges’ table and use her background as an award-winning songwriter and producer to praise or critique the wannabe hopefuls throughout the competition. The eighth season of American Idol premieres January 2009 on FOX.

“We are turning the heat up on Idol this year and are thrilled to welcome Kara to the judges’ table,” said creator and executive producer Simon Fuller. “She is a smart, sassy lady, and one of America’s most successful songwriters. We know she will bring a new level of energy and excitement to the show.”

“We had originally intended for American Idol to have four judges,” said executive producer Cecile Frot-Coutaz. “We’ve seen from our international series that having a fourth judge creates a dynamic that benefits both the contestants and the viewers.”

Mike Darnell, President, alternative Programming of FOX, added, “For the past seven seasons, Paula has had to endure the experience of being the only woman at the judges’ table. She’s been as an island of consideration and gentle criticism between Randy and Simon, offering her invaluable expertise as a performer and No. 1 artist to the thousands who have competed on American Idol. With Kara by her side, Paula finally has some back-up and now there is going to be a lot more ‘girl power’ on the show.”

One of the industry’s most sought after songwriters and producers, DioGuardi’s songs have appeared on more than 100 million records. Her songs have been recorded by Grammy award-winning artists including Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, Celine Dion, Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood, Santana and Pink. Scores of major recording artists including Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne, Pussycat Dolls, Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers, Natasha Bedingfield, Jewel, Ashley Tisdale, Katharine McPhee, Taylor Hicks, Bo Bice, Clay Aiken, Ashlee Simpson, Hilary Duff, Jessica Simpson, Kylie Minogue, Enrique Iglesias, Nick Lachey and Marc Anthony have also released DioGuardi’s songs.

Over the last four years, she has been awarded 10 BMI Pop Awards for having written the most performed songs on radio. From her catalog of several hundred songs, over 264 have been released on major labels worldwide; and over 165 have appeared on multi-platinum selling albums. DioGuardi co-owns Arthous Entertainment, where she develops and mentors fellow hit writers, producers and artists.

It is not yet known whether FOX8 will broadcast it again next year, however it was a ratings success on Foxtel drawing in 100,000 viewers near the end of the season.

I will keep you all posted in regards to what is going on in regards to broadcasting rights in 2009.

Lets just hope that TEN don’t get control over it.

Kyle XY is currently airing on FOX8 at 7:30pm Thursdays.   So far we know Kyle XY is some sort of strange being with no memory at all, no belly button, no prevoius life.  We know people are following him, watching his every move, but so far, we don’t exactly know why.  Some possible theories on who is Kyle XY could be the following:

• Is an Alien from outerspace accidently released by the government but still being kept a close eye on.
• Is suffering from a serious case of amnesia after commiting a murder and doesn’t want to face his consequences.
• Is some sort of genetic clone with an adjustment made to his brain so he is now able to learn everything at an accelerated rate.
• Is something to do with the professor, maybe a creation of his workings.

The Trager family has taken him in with no where else to go and he is adjusting nicely, learning at a rapid rate.  Whatever it is the mystery is intriguing.  Kyle XY, the simple boy, who is extremely smart, yet has an extremely large heart will continue to capture the imagination of viewers.  The first season has 10 episodes.  Whether Foxtel will show the full 23 episode second season straight after the first is still yet to be decided.

If you have any Kyle XY theories we’d love to hear about them.  For those of you who have seen past the episodes currently airing on FOX8 please try not to spoil us.

Greek the ABC Family television show which airs alongside The Secret Life of the American Teenager is now coming to Australia on FOX8.

The show revolves around the life of Rusty Cartwright, a self proclaimed geek from high school trying to start a new life in college.  To begin his new life he pledges a fraternity hoping to gain popularity.  However Rusty’s sister who is beautiful and popular already deeply associated with the top Sority.

For more information on the show, listen to Episode 13 of the podcast. Follow the links on the main page.

Greek premieres 8:30pm Thursday, September 18th on FOX8.

For those of you who are unaware Kyle XY makes its Australian television debut this week on Foxtel’s FOX8 channel. The show begins this Thursday the 28th of August at 7.35pm AEST.

The show begins with the pilot episode which aired back in June of 2006 in the USA on ABC Family. It centres around a teenager (Kyle) who wakes up one day with no recollection of who he is and how he got there, he is taken in by a family and with the help of them and new found friends he attempts to figure out exactly who he is.

Your favourite blogger is back for a second season. See your first glimpse of the new season below.

Gossip Girl returns September 1 on The CW.

See it 8:30pm Tuesdays on FOX8.

Gossip Girl – The Complete First Season